Youths between the ages of 13 and 18 are among the biggest consumers of sweetened beverages. In this age group obesity is becoming a social problem in all industrialized nations.

Italian version

Youths between the ages of 13 and 18 are among the biggest consumers of sweetened beverages. In this age group obesity is becoming a social problem in all industrialized nations.

A simple experiment in which sweetened drinks were simply substituted with sugarless ones demonstrated a considerable loss of weight even without the imposition of other diet strategies.

We must keep in mind the fact that a sweetened drink releases around 30 grams of sugar in into the body within just a few minutes. The speed at which it is absorbed is rapid and the effect of the insulin increase is devastating.

Insulin does its job quite well: it attempts to remove an enormous amount of sugar from circulation because the body isn't used to it. In order to do so, the insulin must transform the sugar into fat, causing a glycemic drop, and creating a strong sensation of hunger and a search for additional carbohydrates. This results in a vicious circle that is difficult to interrupt without a precise change in habit.

To counteract these effects, we need to activate our metabolism by redistributing our meals throughout the day. We need to regulate what we eat by increasing the amount of fiber and proteins and avoiding the consumption of empty calories like those contained in beverages.
A piece of cake made with whole wheat flour and honey has a very low impact on insulin (for an equivalent amount of calories) while that of a glass of sweetened beverage is quite strong.

The study to which we are making reference was published in the past few days on Pediatrics (Ebbeling CB, et al. Pediatrics 2006 Mar;117(3):673-80). It showed that after a period of 25 weeks overweight youths lost a considerable amount of weight after simply changing the type of beverage that they drank,

This means that even a minimal behavior change and a true education about diet could really generate significant and lasting results on weight and obesity.

Italian version